Fastening device



Nov. 21, 1939. F w. WILLIAMS FASTENING DEVICE Filed vMay 4, 1937 Patented Nov. 21, 1939 UNITED v STATES FASTENING DEV IGE.

Frederick W. Williams, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii Application May 4, 1937, Serial No. 140,729

8 Claims.

My invention relates to fastening devices for wallboards or panels and its principal object is to provide an improved fastener for invisibly securing wallboards or panels made of hard or dense materials, such as plywood, veneers, prestwood and masonite to suitable supporting elements.

A primary feature of the invention consists in providing a fastener with a prong for penetrating the wallboard and with a portion constituting a prolongation of the prong to which force may be applied for causing the prong to penetrate the wallboard, the fastener being also provided with means which is movable with respect to the prong for. penetrating the board in spaced relation to the prong after the latter has penetrated the boar Another feature of the invention consists in providing a fastener with 2, prong for penetrating the wallboard and with a portion adaptedto overlap the inner face of the wallboard, said portion affording an abutment for receiving blows to drive the prong into the wallboard and having an inwardly projecting spur adapted to penetrate the wallboard after penetration thereof by the prong.

A further feature of the invention consists in providing a fastener with a body portion adapted to overlap the inner face of the wallboard and with a prong extending in the general direction of the body portion from one end thereof, the opposite end of the body portion affording an abutment for receiving blows to drive the prong into the wallboard and having an inwardly projecting spur adapted to penetrate the wallboard at an angle to the prong upon bending the body portion relativelyto the prong. A still further feature of the'invention consists in providing a fastener having a bodyportion adapted to overlap the inner face of the wallboard with a plurality ofprongs projecting in different directions from adjacent one end of the portion and a spur projecting inwardly from adjacent the opposite end thereof, one of the prongs and the spur being adapted to penetrate the wallboard in spaced relation to each other and another of the prong being adapted to penetrate a support for the wallboard.

Other and more specific features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fastener,

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the fastener- Figure 3 is a plan view of a blank from which the fastener may be conveniently-formed.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a fragment'of a 5 wallboard illustrating the manner in which the fastener is first applied thereto, the'head of a driving implement by which a prong of the fastener is caused to penetrate the wallboard being shown in dot and dash lines.

Figure 5 is'a sectional view of a fragment of a wallboardfsho-wing the fastener completely attached thereto, the head of a driving implement by which the fastener is bent into its final position being shown in dot and dash lines.

Figure 6'is a perspective view showing a portion of a wallboard with a plurality of the fasening devices completelysecured thereto.

Figure 7 is a sectional view illustrating the preferred manner inwhich the abutting edges of two wallboards or panels provided with the fastening devices are connected to a support.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a fastener illustrating a modified form of the invention.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a blank from which 5 the fastener illustrated in veniently formed.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, and especially to Figures 1 to 7, inclusive, the fastener which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1 is preferably formed from a single blank of sheet metal of the form illustrated in Figure 3. The blank from which the fastener is formed is of such gauge or thickness that the fastener will be comparatively rigid and 35 yet will be capable of being bent upon the application of a force which may be easily delivered by a blow from any suitable driving implement, such as a carpenters hammer.

The fastener'is provided with a body or plate portionv 2 adapted to be disposed in overlapping relation with the inner face of a wallboard, such as indicated at 3. Extending in the general direction of the body portion from one end thereof is a prong l which is adapted to penetrate the inner face of the wallboard, preferably at an acute angle thereto. The prong 4 may be advantageously curved slightly so that it willv penetrate the board in an arcuate path instead of in a straight line. i

The body portion of the fastener constitutes a Figure 8 may be conprolongation. of the prong 4 and it is provided with an oppositely projecting extension 5, the outer end of whichalfords an abutment to which blQWS may b mparted to the 'fastener by any cause it to move toward suitable driving implement, such as a hammer, for driving the prong into the wallboard. Projecting from the inner face of the body or plate portion of the fastener inwardly of the outer end of the extension 5 is a spur or prong 6. (For convenience of description only and to distinguish it from the prong 4, the part designated 6 is usually referred to in the remainder of the specification and in the claims as a spur.)

The spur 6 is adapted to penetrate the inner face of the wallboard at an angle to the prong 4 only after the prong has been completely inserted in the board and the body portion has been bent with respect to the prong so as to the inner face of the board. The position preferably occupied by the fastener after prong 4 has completely penetrated the wallboard is shown in Figure 4, and the final position occupied by the fastener after the body portion has been bent inwardly by a suitable force being delivered to its outer face to cause the spur to penetrate the wallboard, is shown in Figure 5. It is to be noted that, since the body portion of the fastener upon being bent inwardly rotates about the inner end of prong 4, the spur is caused to penetrate the wallboard at an acute angle to the inner face thereof. It will thus be appreciated that a very firm connection is obtained between the fastener and wallboard.

Extending outwardly from the body portion of the fastener adjacent the inner end of prong 4 is an additional prong I by which the fastener, and consequently a wallboard to which the fastener is connected, may be secured to any suitable support. When the fastener is first applied to a wallboard, the prong 1 projects outwardly from the inner face of the board at an acute angle thereto but, after the body portion has been bent inwardly to cause the spur 6 to penetrate the wallboard, prong I will be disposed, as shown in Figure 5, at substantially right angles to the inner face of the board. A wallboard being provided with the fastener may, therefore, be easily connected to a support by applying force to the outer face of the wallboard in the area to which the fastener is secured. When large panels are to be applied in contiguous relation with their edges abutting, a very tight joint may be obtained between the panels (and this is particularly important in using panels made of plywood) if the fasteners adjacent the abutting edges of the panels are driven into a common support simultaneously. 'In this manner, the edge of one panel forms a guide for the abutting edge of the adjacent panel and a tight joint between adjoining panels is assured. As shown in Figure '7, a block of wood or similar material, indicated at 12, is preferably held in engagement with the area of the panels to which force is to be applied, as by a hammer, for driving the prongs of the fasteners into the supporting elements, one of which is indicated at l3 in Figure 7.

The fastener illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 is, in many respects, identical with the fastener illustrated in Figures 1 to 7, inclusive. It has 3. prong 8 adapted to penetrate the inner face of the wallboard at an acute angle thereto, a body portion 9 forming a prolongation of the prong and a prong Ill projecting from the outer face of the body portion adjacent the inner end of prong 8. Unlike the fastener illustrated in Figures 1 to '7, inclusive, however, it is not provided with an extension 5 but instead the spur II with which it is provided is disposed at theextreme end of the body portion Sopposite' the prong 8. The inner end of the spur or, which is the same thing, the adjacent outer end of the body portion is in alignment with the prong 8 and thus affords an abutment to which blows may be conveniently delivered for driving the prong into the wallboard.

While the fastener-shown in Figures 8 and 9 is somewhat simpler in form than the fastener illustrated in the other figures of the drawings, it has the disadvantage that, unless accurately aimed hammer blows are delivered to it, the spur may be bent inwardly into such a position that it will not easily penetrate the wallboard when the body portion of the fastener is bent inwardly.

It will be perceived that a fastener embodying my invention may be easily and firmly attached to wallboards 0r panels made of very dense and hard materials. Furthermore, as wallboards provided with such fasteners may be easily secured to suitable supports, the wallboards can be painted or decorated in any desired manner before being installed.

While I have illustrated two forms of my invention, other forms will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A blind fastener for attaching wallboards and the like to a support, said fastener including a portion adapted to overlap the inner face of the wallboard, 2, prong extending in the general direction of said portion from one end thereof, means to which force may be applied for causing the prong to penetrate the wallboard, a spur projecting inwardly from said portion adapted to penetrate the wallboard at an angle to the prong upon bending said portion relatively to the prong, and means for securing the fastener to the support.

2. A blind fastener for attaching wallboards and the like to a support, said fastener including a portion adapted to overlap the inner face of the wallboard, prong extending in the general direction of said portion from one end thereof, the opposite end of said portion affording an abutment for receiving blows to drive the prong into the wallboard, a spur projecting inwardly from said portion adapted to penetrate the wallboard at an angle to the prong upon bending said portion relatively to the prong, and means for securing the fastener to the support.

3. A blind fastener for attaching wallboards and the like to a support, said fastener including a portion adapted to overlap the inner fare of the wallboard, a prong extending in the general direction of said portion from one end thereof, a spur adjacent the opposite end of said portion and extending inwardly therefrom, the last named end of said portion affording an abutment for receiving blows to drive-the prong into the wallboard and said portion being bendable with respect to the prong to cause said spur to penetrate the wallboard at an angle to the prong, and means for connecting the fastener to the support.

4. A blind fastener for attaching wallboards and the like to a support, said fastener including a plate portion adapted to overlap .the inner face of the wallboard, a prong extending in the general direction of said plate portion from one end thereof, the opposite end of the plate portion being provided with an extension affording an abutmentfor receiving blows to drive the prong into the wallboard, a spur projecting from attaching wallboards and the like to a support,

said fastener including a plurality of prongs extending in different directions and having their inner ends contiguous, one of said prongs being adapted to penetrate the wallboard and another of the prongs being adapted to penetrate the support, and means bendable with respect to the first named prong and provided with an inwardly projecting spur adapted to penetrate the board in spaced relation to the latter prong.

6. A one piece sheet metal blind fastener for attaching wallboards and the like to a support, said fastener including 2. prong adapted to penetrate the wallboard, a second prong adapted to penetrate the support and having its inner end disposed in contiguous relation with the inner end of the first prong, and means extending laterally from the inner end of the second prong provided with an inwardly projecting spur adapted to penetrate the wallboard after penetration thereof by said first prong.

7. A blind fastener for attaching wallboards and the like .to a support, said fastener including a prong adapted to penetrate the wallboard, a plate portion extending in the general direction of said prong and constituting a prolongation thereof, said plate portion having a portion spaced from the inner end of the prong to which blows may be delivered for driving the prong into the wallboard, and a spur movable with respect to said prong adapted to penetrate the wallboard at an angle to the prong after the lat ter has penetrated the wallboarcl.

8. A blind fastener for attaching a wallboard and the like to a support, said fastener including a prong adapted to penetrate the board, a portion adapted to overlap the inner face of the board having an abutment spaced from the inner end of said prong to which force may be applied. forcausing the prong to penetrate the wallboard, a spur projecting inwardly from said portionvin spaced relation to the prong for penetrating the wallboard after penetration thereof by the prong, and a second prong projecting outwardly from said portion adjacent the inner 'end of said first named prong for penetrating the support.

FREDERICK W. WILLIAMS. 

